Kalam On The A&N Islands

Former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam today unveiled a vision document for the strategic development of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands by the year 2020. Inaugurating a national seminar on ‘Security and Development of the Andaman and Nicobar islands’ in Port Blair, he said a 250 MW dedicated nuclear power station on one of the islands would form the core of the development programme for the archipelago.

Dr Kalam said A&N islands being a vital part of the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), the Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) of the Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) would have “enhanced significance” in the next decade. The ANC should have bases for static aircraft carrier and a nuclear submarine based fleet, he remarked. Dr Kalam called upon the Armed Forces to evolve an effective security plan for underneath the sea, at sea level and in air. “The security plan which you evolve should ensure that there is no unauthorized occupation of the vacant islands,” he added.

Vice Admiral Vijay Shankar, Commander-in-Chief of the ANC, said the location of these islands confers a geostrategic advantage. “Its economic and forest potential dictates a sound security presence,” he added.

The two-day seminar is being attended by top defence and security experts including Shri Shekhar Dutt, Deputy National Security Advisor, Shri Shyam Saran, former Foreign Secretary and Shri R Chidambaram, Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India. The national seminar has been organised by the ANC. Raised as India’s first Integrated Command, the ANC has a unique responsibility in promoting India’s ‘Look East’ policy.

The Andaman and Nicobar group of islands straddle the strategic seaway leading to the Malacca straits. The A & N Islands are separated from the mainland by more than 1,000 kms but are placed at close proximity to a number of littoral states in the Bay of Bengal and stretching to the Indian Ocean. The archipelago comprises 572 small and big islands, of which only 36 are inhabited. The islands, which comprise 30 percent of the country’s EEZ, have a potential reserve of Oil and Natural Gas besides being a great resource of marine life.

13 thoughts on “Kalam On The A&N Islands”

  1. Good to see some action on this front. But is it ambitious enough? A 250MW power station looks rather small seeing how A&N already has 65MW of diesel based generation capacity, some or most of which would be replaced by this new generator.

  2. A nuclear power station will not be that good. It can be taken out by the Chinese in a first attack. So it will be better to have a distributed one based on wind and solar power to power the islands.

  3. LCA is undergoing "successful" testing somewhere – there is a Guiness Record to be made you know.

    I suggest we tell the MMRCA suppliers to take 1 LCA for every plane supplied. It shall keep the production lines running.

  4. Is he your friend or have you overachieved more than him , whats with the heading how come you are on first name basis , we are in india not is USA , give him proper respect and add at least Dr. in front of his name.

  5. Considering that the Andaman & Nicobar islands are a geologically active zone I think it will be risky to make it a base for aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines

  6. It is good to note that something concrete about the defence potential of the A & C islands is being planned. It is imperative that these island chain that is close to the choke point of the Straits of Malacca should be developed for the Navy and Air Force to ensure a safe passage for Indian ships as well as those of friendly nations.

    If these islands are also included into a development plan, it would attract Indian and international developers as a tourist and commercial destination.

    Countries with limited land area such as Singapore could be attracted to invest with the proper sort of incentives.

    If proper infrastructure and other facilities are included in a development plan, investors looking for lucrative returns may show interest in these islands.

    Far too long the A & C has been left idle which might attract the wrong kind of opportunists.

  7. We remain the dumb and unimaginative Indics. 250 MW is nothing if you want to develop A&N as a tourist and recreation hotspot to rival mauritius, maldives et al. You need a 2000 MW baseload from nuclear itself, the rest coming from gas-turbine peak load generators. Wind, grid-tie solar and hydro 'wave' generators can provide another 5 MW or so and give the project the much desired green credential.

    Earthquakes and tsunamis are non-issue. You build the infrastructure taking into account seismic activity.

  8. IF India does really wants to develope A&N island chain into a Military as well as tourist hotspot,It has plenty of options left.

    Taking the Advantage of the location of the island chain itself,leaving the Carnicobar for Military pouposes as like today.A good miniaturised 1GW reactor can take care of the military use.It can be placed some where deep in the ground so that i will be safe out of harms hand.Even though the rest of the Island is being attacked the reactor underground will be safe.
    U can have a deep sea port and submarine base(underground) on Great nicobar.While the carnicobar can hold aircrafts and future bombers(incase we induct).

    Similar sized reactor(underground) can be used on the Adaman Chain.U can connect the small island chains with bridges and can call the private sector for investments.Develoing a domestic seaport will help a lot.Turning the Andamans into a singapore is a matter of decision and determination.

  9. @ All …

    If all of you guys have such expert criticisms and comments, then why dont you all just shut up and join the BRO or DRDO or ISRO or any other nation building organization. At least be encouraging and thankful to what ever is being done and planned by others. If there is something that the Armed Forces hate the most, it is back seat drivers like you.

    – Capt Karan Singh Randhawa.

Leave a Reply to the terminator Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


Scroll to Top